A system for actively reducing noise at a listening point, includes an earphone housing, a transmitting transducer, a receiving transducer and a controller. The transmitting transducer converts a first electric signal into a first acoustic signal, and radiates the first acoustic signal along a first acoustic path having a first transfer characteristic and along a second acoustic path having a second transfer characteristic. The receiving transducer converts the first acoustic signal and ambient noise into a second electrical signal. The controller compensates for the ambient noise by providing a noise reducing electrical signal to the transmitting transducer. The noise reducing electrical signal is derived from a filtered electrical signal that is provided by filtering the second electrical signal with a third transfer characteristic. The second and the third transfer characteristics together model the first transfer characteristic.